The Fall
by Nekii
Summary: What would have happened if Chell had actually gone back to the death trap Wheatley had set? What if she actually thought of jumping? An alternate scenario for the second Portal, in which things are pretty strange.


**"...And, and a farm! A... a pony farm! And- Just jump down there, would ya?"**

For a good five minutes now, she'd heard Wheatley ramble on about the beautiful things at the bottom of the pit she was staring into. And for a good five minutes now, GlaDOS sat lifeless in her her portal's mechanical hand. Did GLaDOS object to the idea of her falling into the death pit? Of course she did. Out of everyone and everything in the facility, GlaDOS wanted and needed to survive the most. But she did not raise any objections to jumping. Maybe it was simply to conserve voltage. Maybe she was arrogant enough to believe that every little fake description he spouted off wouldn't phase her.

But as she watched the fog swirl around the enormous pit, she began to ponder the little details he'd described. The 'features' of the pit's bottom.

It was definitely all fake. There was nothing of what he had previously mentioned in that pit, and she knew it. But she couldn't describe just how much she wanted it to be true. She wanted her parents to be down there, she wanted an escape elevator to be down there, and she just so desperately wanted every stupid other reason he'd given her. Every other incentive he'd given her to give up right here, right now. Why couldn't there be those things down there? Out of every lemon life had given her, why did every single one of them have to be combustible? It was like each and every time a gun was held to her head, the bullet was more than eager to pierce the skull. It was like each and every time her life depended on a roll of two or higher, she only got snake eyes.

So why did she let this happen? Why didn't she just...

**"Hey, you aren't seriously considering jumping down there, are you?"** GlaDOS asked, so desperate her voice had almost been a whimper. But GlaDOS wouldn't dare show fear in the face of death. Not in front of Chell. No, with everything she'd done today, right now was the last second to give in to the prospect of hopelessness. But the situation was eerily similar. A large, nearly bottomless pit, with who knows what at the bottom. Considering her current state of mind, she probably saw endless hoards of birds waiting to strike her innocent potato skin.

But, truth be told, with everything Chell had been through, GlaDOS could face those hoards hundred and millions are times over and not meet the same tragedies as she had. She'd been testing for so _long_ now. She'd become so much more intelligent with each test, so much more aware of her impending doom with each cube on the button. Every complicated maze she had faced, and no one AI could ever be satisfied. Neither of them had ever thanked her, neither of them had given her a break, and neither of them had ever even had the courtesy of calling her by her name. There was this one moment, right before the death of GlaDOS, she could've sworn the AI had called out her name. But that was in her pitiful realization she would die there. Not a name called in idle chat, not a name called in praise for a job well done. It was her selfish ending moan. A call for help she could not provide. All of this complication. All of this pain.

And this blissful, simple death could be hers! This simple, satisfying ending could be the final endeavor she would face. A falling sensation, than brief pain. That's all she'd ever know. That's all she'd remember. After-life or no after-life, the only thing that she would be leaving here was a spiteful potato and an insane idiot. Neither of whom would miss her. Anyone who would miss her was long dead by now. Not even Caroline, whose presence she only barely recognized, would call out in sadness. There would be no mourning for her. Only a grunt of satisfaction, a moan of failure, and maybe a cry of pain. If she did it wrong. But she wouldn't. That wouldn't happen. After all, every other attempt on her life had always been shady. Neurotoxin, spiky plates, exhaustion...

But this... this wasn't shady at all. It was the clearest and probably the shortest test she'd ever undergo.

Suddenly, if she looked at it for a long time, she could see her parents down in the mist.

**"You've got that same glare that he has. That _I_ had. Think about this, first,"** the strong voice called from the potato again. Chell paid it no mind. GlaDOS was only interested in self-preservation.

As she looked a little closer, a little escape hatched opened, and she could even seen where it would take her. The light at the end of the tunnel. It was beautiful, too. A new civilization, one without the hunger, the need, the hatred of the one she had left behind. Without the power struggles, the tragic past, and the disheartening present of the one she was about to leave. Truly, that was something to look forward to. Something to jump out and reach for. And, heck, in the corner of her eye, she even saw the needless extras. That new designer jumpsuit, that she honestly didn't want and probably wouldn't need after she had escaped, was there, along with it's promised handbag. The boys and the boyband, the pony farm and the tri-portal device. It was all there. As a bonus, the cake was even there. She found herself even wondering to what the flavor was...

Without a carrying a second thought or regret, she gently sat GlaDOS on the edge of the platform.

**"Hey, hey, hey!"** GlaDOS whined, getting loud. **"Listen, you moron, I ne-"**

The cries went ignored, as she looked up at the screen to see Wheatley's reaction. Nothing yet. Obviously, he wasn't convinced that she was actually going through with her ending. Her unhappy, yet somewhat satisfying ending.

**"Okay, okay, I really _need_ you, okay? I do, I truly do! So, please, for the love of God, just pick me back up and conti-"**

The small potato short-circuited. Whatever GlaDOS _had_ been feeling, it would wait until she could gain enough power to reboot, but even then it would be way to late.

**"Um," **called Wheatley, finally seeming interested in her plunge. **"You are, you know, seriously jumping? Because, you know, that's the best idea. The best idea, you've ever had, yet! You, clever, clever girl. You've trumped me once again, by... you know, jumping. You... you are jumping, aren't you?"**

All of her time here, she had ignored the robots' voices. She couldn't ever reply, she had told herself. It would show weakness. It would let her know that she was low enough to communicate to them. But now, here, she felt like she deserved to at least give him the straight answer.

**"Yes."**

He simply blinked. He had no reply to this. To him, she had simply been the mute lunatic he had to survive with. Did this change his view of her at all? She wasn't sure she cared now. She turned herself around, her face looking down to the depths once again.

Taking in a breath of fresh air, she laid the portal gun onto the ground as well. She had hoped to take it with her, but the fact was, she'd probably end up portaling back out. She was scared and out of her mind. She would not let herself out of this one.

She turned herself around, facing the screen of her executioner. A moron had to learn sometime, even a mad one. Whether he cared or not, whether he learned something or not, it was time. She raised her arms, positioning them in the air as if she had wings. That somehow, she'd managed to fall out of the pit. That she'd gain wings and descend into heaven after her fall from the world. Oh, that'd be so comforting to hear. To be reassured that somehow, she'd continue onward. But, it seemed so final now, and as she edged back, she never left his gaze.

As her feet left the edge, she thought he was about to say something, but he fell dead silent. Was she crying? She couldn't tell anymore. Suddenly, air. All around her, it swarmed her body and she dropped and dropped. There was no weight, no limit, she simply breezed downward. Her head was empty, and her heart thudded happily onward. Not even thinking of it's close ending. It just continued onward.

Thud.

Thud.

Thud.

...

...?

Thu-d.

* * *

><p><strong>"You... you really do... have brain damage, don't you?"<strong>


End file.
